The invention relates generally to systems for depositing small amounts of liquid having volumes in the range of about 0.5 μL to 2 mL. Although there are various end uses for such systems, they are particularly useful in connection with microscale chemical and biological analyses. Frequently, the microdispensing system will be used to dispense reagent into a microplate having an array of small wells which hold liquid. A common size is a 96 well plate, measuring about 80 by 120 mm and having round sample wells having a diameter of about 6.5 mm. More recently, plates having 384 and 1536 wells have become available, and the wells in such plates are correspondingly smaller. Thus, reagents must be dispensed in extremely small quantities, and achieving dispensing accuracy and repeatability becomes increasingly difficult.
Depositing small droplets of liquid for various purposes, including ink jet printing has been of interest in recent years. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,960 a system using a solenoid valve is employed. The system features the use of a positive displacement pump to provide the needed flow while the solenoid valve is opened and closed to form the desired droplet size, said to be in the range of 1-4 nanoliters (1-4 nL). Substitution of a piezoelectric dispenser for the solenoid valve dispenser was suggested. The volume of liquid deposited was intended to be in the range of 0.42×10−9 to 2×10−6 liters (0.42 nL to 2 μL).
Another patent disclosing the use of a positive displacement pump to supply a piezoelectric dispensing nozzle is U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,759. In an alternative system, a reservoir containing a liquid is maintained at a desired pressure. In both types of dispensing systems a sample typically is aspirated into the piezoelectric nozzle and then dispensed, using a liquid different from that being dispensed.